Bitter Pills, Breathing Spaces

It's been a while since I made a post about a song I liked.  The last one was about Madonna's Take A Bow.   While I do have plans to feature music that I rave about on my still-in-production review blog, I couldn't resist writing a post about this one.  The song is so compellingly beautiful that you find yourself wishing you're the one for whom it is being dedicated to. Well, at least, I knew I did.

Turning Page by Sleeping At Last is included in the original motion picture soundtrack of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.  While it wasn't launched with the same fanfare as It Will Rain by Bruno Mars or A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, the song became memorable because of a particular scene in the movie (which I'm not telling for spoiler reasons).  It was short when I heard it for the first time (typical for a song used in a scene) but it was perhaps one of the most notable tracks among the movies I watched last year.  The song catches you with its arrangement: the piano sounds achingly wonderful and the lyrics reads like an ode to true love.

About a month ago, Sleeping At Last shared a live performance of the song. Like fine wine, it just got better.  Here's a video of the live performance and the full lyrics below.  Hope you enjoy it. Happy weekend!

Image Credit: ~Juu97 via deviantART

I guess by this time you'll know that I'm a girl with many hobbies/interests: taking photographs, watching movies (and even TV series although I somewhat neglected that lately), reading books among others.  Listening to music is another hobby/interest that keeps me pre-occupied and something that I cannot live without.

Last night, I went into a frenzy searching for a good movie that will ease my stress at work. In the middle of my hunt, I came across one of my old Madonna CDs, Something To Remember. It was one of my favorite compilations since it featured most of my favorite ballads. I stopped hunting, took out my old CD player, got my good pair of headphones and let the ol' gadget shuffle the tracks. Out came "Take A Bow" and a slow smile crept on my face.

The song reminded me of a lot of things, bitter and sweet. I remembered singing this to a college friend the night before she got married. I remembered hearing this on the radio while lending a shoulder to another friend who discovered that her boyfriend didn't love her anymore. If anything, the song reminds me about realization; that all things -- good and bad -- come to an end.

Nothing is meant to last forever... even something mundane like stress or something precious like free will. When the curtains fall, you have nothing left to do but say goodbye. As soon as the song ended, I did.

Most of my friends know that I'm a huge audiophile. I like music. For me, it's poetry in motion. Sometimes, I let certain songs express the way I feel. Most of those that I like have strong, solid lyrics. I don't have any bias when it comes to genres but I there are some that I would have a love/hate relationship with. One of them is country music.

I'm a little picky when it comes to country music songs. There's a handful of them in my playlist like Jesus Take The Wheel by Carrie Underwood and What Hurts The Most by Rascal Flatts. But I always admired country song lyrics: they're often personal and grounded. And Taylor Swift's latest single is no exception.


A good number of Taylor Swift's songs are autobiographical in nature, which she admitted once in an interview. The lyrics often chastised the men with whom she had really bad relationships with. However, Back To December is different. The song is a heartfelt apology; I could feel her regret, her longing all throughout. While I have yet to decide if this was really meant for the other Taylor, I am adding it to my playlist. Of all songs she has released, this will probably be my all-time favorite.

Hey there! I haven't really blogged in a while. Partly because of work and writer's block. I was thinking about making a movie review but I needed some more time before I put in on paper. And lately, all I could manage to squeeze in while working would be listening to music. It was then that I realized that it's been a while since I shared a playlist. Inspired by my recent dream where I was driving a bright yellow Porsche turbo in France's beautiful countryside, I now present to you...

Watching Monsters vs. Aliens (reviewed in my previous post) allowed me to take a little trip down music memory lane. The moment I got home, I ransacked through my old CD cabinet to search for an album that I haven't played in a long time. It took me a while to locate it, but when I did, I was rockin' to it like there's no tomorrow.



The album in question is Time Capsule: Songs For A Future Generation by The B-52's (pictured above). It's a compilation of their hits from the late 70's to the 80's, as well as a few new tracks. My blog title is a lyric from one of my favorite songs in the compilation entitled Debbie.

I was exposed to B-52's music around late 80's/early 90's with tracks like Love Shack, Roam, Rock Lobster, Private Idaho and especially Planet Claire -- the source for this wave back trip. Given that I was still in school and couldn't afford to buy even a cassette album, I was merely content on catching them on the radio. Their sound is an eclectic mix of new wave, punk and alternative rock. Their song lyrics are so crazy and cool especially the close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-themed ones. This is largely due to the founder's belief (Ricky Wilson, R.I.P.) that he was abducted by aliens at one point of his life. While I cannot confirm nor deny the story's truth, it makes for an entertaining explanation for the absurd yet funky blend of words. Case in point...


Despite that, you tend to ignore it, enjoy the beat and have a laugh -- which I earnestly did. I'm now on my 3rd play and I don't think I'll probably hit stop anytime soon. =P

I just finished transcribing the lyrics of, what I feel is, one of the sexiest sounding songs I've ever heard in my life. Vegas by Sara Bareilles. I can't get tired of it. It has that rhythmic, beautiful, bluesy groove for me. Reminds me of Sade's No Ordinary Love.

Sometimes in my musical adventures, certain songs throw me off-guard with the brillance of its lyrics and arrangement. I'm glad that last weekend I devoted my complete attention to Sara Bareilles. Now, I understand why people gravitate toward her. She deserves all the love for her music. Without further ado, here's the full lyrics to the song. If you like reading it, it's better when you listen to it. Trust me. Enjoy!

Last Saturday, I got a gift: a CD of Taking Back Sunday's Louder Now. It was neat surprise, much thanks to an angel from Warner Music for being kind enough to share this cool and amazing album. Same overflowing gratitude goes out to my friends at TCP for making this possible.

Cool and amazing? Well, I say that in the sense that I couldn't find myself skipping any track in the CD. That's a rare thing for me since there would be songs in my collection of CDs and digital compilations that I wouldn't like. For me, this CD holds the same distinction as that of The Corrs' Talk On Corners and Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing. Also, it's another addition to my eclectic mix of artists that I listen to.

Taking Back Sunday has been in the music scene since 1999 (where was I then? oh, getting jaded with work. =P). I may have heard a song of theirs but never associated it with them. So when I sought for an album that I'd wish to receive, I diligently studied Warner Music's artist line-up. It was then that my eyes fell on the said artist and their Louder Now album. The reviews were outstanding on every music critic page I looked at. That did it for me. Since I was having some apprehensions on the CD's availability (not knowing whether there are Taking Back Sunday followers in the Philippines), I selected another CD just in case. My second choice was Damien Rice's O since I've seen one on the shelves. I think, either of the two CDs would've have the same effect on me. However, this I like because if I needed a quick energy boost for my dreary office day, this was the "it" CD.

Currently, my most played tracks are Up Against (Blackout) and Twenty-Twenty Surgery. The album is straight-up alternative rock. However, the recording is very fluid. One song easily transitions to the other that you hardly notice that you've already moved on to another song. For me, that was also impressive.

For those who dig alternative rock, I suggest you check out this album. It was worth it for me and would buy any day. I'm just lucky I got it as a gift.


c,')

xoxo, l.p.

This may sound horrible for some but not for me. For an absolute music enthusiast, I don't have an iPod to think I have double digit gigabytes worth of audio files of every conceivable artist that I adore, mainstream or indie. I know... I know... Horrible concept indeed. Unless you're willing to gift me a new iPod this Christmas or I win it in a raffle, I wouldn't buy one within the next 18 months even if I have the resources. My hard earned money is set for something else which I hoping I can buy soon. What is it? Let's just reserve the answer for another post, shall we?

Right now, as you're viewing my blog, you're treated to some tracks from one of my favorite artists, Frou Frou, courtesy of IMEEM. The last one I featured was Keane. My collection of audio tracks is very eclectic to say the least. From Colbie Calliat to Oasis... Imogen Heap to The Virgins... EBTG to Paramore... Cary Brothers to Fall Out Boy... the list is endless. But I can definitely say that a big chunk of them are Brit/Euro acts. Not that I don't like OPM. My favorite OPM songs surprisingly are those from the 70-80s and even the classics. On rare occasions, my mom and I would hum "Maalaala Mo Kaya" when we feel nostalgic. However, for some reason, I'm gravitating towards Brit/Euro acts more because of their poetic/pained lyrics and their one-of-a-kind music arrangements. Imagine the creativity that goes into the fluidity of the lyrics and music that accompanies it. Try listening to One Place by EBTG and read the lyrics along with it... I've quoted a portion below... You'll know what I mean.


Genius! I guess you might be wondering what do I use to listen to my fave tracks. Well, I play them on my trusty mobile phone that I bought from Singapore oh-so many months ago. I've loaded about 150++ tracks in there that I've played over and over again. I replace some tracks when I get fresh ones but there are some that remained and were stored since Day 1. Shalom by Moonraker and Midnight Show by The Killers are my top 2 most played tracks. I paid my enthusiasm forward to several friends who I'm amazed to know that they like my selections.

So, if by some instance you happen to bump into me with my earphones on, I'd probably smile, say sorry and walk on because I'm in my happy little music zone.

c,')

xoxo, l.p.